NO334041B1 - Process for the preparation of whole-grain compound food products - Google Patents

Description

Field of the invention

The present invention relates to the production of composite food products, such as snacks and ready-to-eat cereals, from combinations of gelatinized wholemeal groats and other natural foodstuffs.

Background for the invention

Wholemeal groats are nutritious and have a high dietary fiber content. Flaked or shaped products have been made with whole wheat. In general, rotary and flake-shaped snacks are typically made with raw wheat flour. Wheat is unique in that it contains gluten, which helps retain water and provides cohesion and elasticity during machine processing. In a rotational molding process, although gluten is not developed, much of the dough cohesion comes from high added levels of plastic shortening and to some extent from sugar in the formulation. In the flake-forming process, gluten is developed, which makes the dough cohesive. Doughs made from wholemeal flours other than wheat tend not to form cohesive doughs because their unique compositions lack gluten, even in the presence of high levels of plastic shortening and sugar in the dough formulation. In particular, starch-based dough compositions, which contain little or no gluten, when mixed with water, tend not to form doughs that are cohesive at room temperature and continuously machinable or flaky.

US Patent Nos. 4,623,548 and 4,623,550 describe doughs made using pregelatinized cereal flours/starches, partially gelatinized cereal flours/starches and raw flours/starches to form doughs with a moisture content of 40-50% for the production of extruded and flaky pan-fried snacks. Gelatinization is a function of water penetration into a whole berry, temperature and time, for a given type of grain. According to US Patent No. 4,179,527, the gelatinization of wheat starch involves the destruction of bonds in the crystalline regions of the starch granules.

In US patent no. 897,181, cereal grains or whole vegetables are moistened, but not cooked, and then repeatedly passed between rollers with grooves before being baked in an oven. It is stated that boiling or steaming the grain or vegetable produces a significant change in its chemical quality and a number of the nutrient-rich soluble substances disappear in the water.

In US Patent No. 3,462,277, a mixture of corn flour or germ and water is passed through an extruder to gelatinize the starch while the dough is cooked and transformed into a rubbery mass. The moisture content of the mixture is 13 to 35%. The continuous U-shaped extrudate is pinched off into segments using cutter rolls to form canoe-shaped cereal products. The separated canoe-shaped pieces are then dried to below 15% moisture.

In US patent no. 3,512,990, a dough made from floury materials such as wheat, corn, oats, rice, potatoes or legumes is cooked, possibly partially or completely, with additional moisture, to an approximate moisture content of about 30%. After this boiling step, the mixture is homogenized by passing it through an extruder or a hammer mill, such as a Fitzmill. The milled or extruded product is dried to an approximate moisture content of 22 to 24%. The dried dough is then compacted between two rollers to provide a gathering effect and produce a sheet of dough with evenly spaced diamond-shaped perforations. The sheet of dough is then cut into strips, folded to form small biscuits, which are closed on three sides, and then deep-fried.

In US patent nos. 987,088, 1,019,831 and 1,021,473 corn or other

groats and immersed in a quantity of water that is limited to what will be taken up by the groats during cooking. The purpose of this is to preserve the aroma and other properties of the grits in the cooked product, as these properties could otherwise be taken away or dissolved by the development of steam or steam. In these processes, the cooked dough is extruded through a perforated plate to obtain filaments.

US 2005/129817 describes whole grain-containing composite products in which grains are held together by a syrup binder. Grain-containing composite products are also described in WO 03/056937 A1, US 2006/0141118 A1 and in CA 2069213 A1.

Summary of the invention

The present invention provides a method for producing a whole-grain composite food product, and is characterized by the features that appear in the characteristic in claim 1.

The invention is also directed to a whole-grain composite food product which is formed by the method according to the invention.

Shelf-stable whole grain composite food products, such as filling and sweet snacks and ready-to-eat cereals, are continuously prepared by preparing a dough by boiling whole grain cereal particles in the presence of water to effectively gelatinize the starch content of the whole grain cereal particles to provide gelatinized whole grains cereal particles, which are mixed with starch, whole grain flour, optionally minor dough ingredients such as leavening agent and a food component selected from the group consisting of vegetables and fruits, effectively to give a dough. The dough is formed into separate dough units, which are baked in an oven or in a pan to give a shelf-stable, whole-grain composite food product that is nutritious, low in fat, multi-flavoured and a good source of dietary fibre. In certain embodiments, shelf-stable food products with a high vegetable/fruit content are produced from a dough with reduced requirements for food fat and sugar in the dough formulation.

In a particular embodiment, pre-milled whole grain particles are pregelatinized in situ under atmospheric pressure conditions in a dough mixer adapted for steam injection or another functionally comparable cooking vessel open to the atmosphere. The procedure generally involves cooking whole grains alone to a pregelatinized state, and then incorporating wholemeal flour, raw and/or pregelatinized starch, a fruit or vegetable component, and possibly minor dough ingredients such as leavening agent, etc, into the dough mixer with mixing effective to provide a continuous flaky dough, and then shaping and sizing the dough into individual units or pieces before baking the dough pieces in an oven or pan to provide a snack product.

In another particular embodiment, pre-milled whole grain cereal particles are cooked in the presence of water under vacuum pressure conditions or superatmospheric pressure conditions either alone or in the presence of fruits or vegetables sufficient to develop gelatinized whole grain particles, and the gelatinized whole grains are combined with the fruits or vegetables, if not already done, and the gelatinized whole grain/fruit or vegetable combination is passed through a low shear extruder to form continuous flaky dough in the form of an extrudate. In a particular embodiment, the fruit or vegetable component and a portion of the whole grain particle ingredient can be vacuum cooked, and the rest of the whole grain particle ingredient, in combination with other dry ingredients such as starch, whole grain flour, leavening agent ingredients, and so on, can be individually steam heated in the presence of water sufficient to also develop gelatinized whole grain particles in the steam-heated mixture, and then the resulting vacuum and steam-heated mixtures can be combined and mixed to produce a dough. The extrudate can be fed to a rotary former, or flake-forming rollers and a cutting device, or other equipment devices suitable for shaping and sizing the dough extrudate into separate pieces of dough. The dough units or pieces of the desired shape and size are baked in an oven or in a pan to provide a whole-grain composite food product.

The gelatinized starch developed in the cooked whole grain(s) aids in the formation of cohesive dough even with no or very small amounts of shortening or fat and/or sugar added to the dough formulation. The dough retains its cohesiveness and strength during machining and can be shaped and sized into discrete units by any of a number of suitable shaping/sizing techniques without falling apart or tearing. In one embodiment, the dough containing the gelatinized whole grain particles maintains acceptable machinability while containing less than 30% by weight, more particularly less than 5% by weight of sugar; and less than 5% by weight, more particularly less than 1% by weight of shortening or similar fatty ingredients, although it is not limited thereto. The shelf-stable composite food product according to embodiments set forth herein may contain the food component selected from the group consisting of vegetables and fruits in an amount ranging from about 1 wt% to about 60 wt%, especially about 5 wt% to about 45 wt%, more especially about 10 wt% to about 32 wt%, and even more particularly about 15 wt% to about 28 wt%, on a dry weight basis, of the final composite food product, without adversely affecting the machinability of the dough or the shelf life stability of the whole grain composite food product. The whole grain composite products according to this invention retain structural integrity as separate forms and are shelf-stable even at such high addition rates of fruits and vegetables. For purposes herein, shelf-stable generally means that the composite food products, stored under ambient conditions (that is, approximately 22°C in packaging normally used for snack chips or thin crackers and the like), are safe to eat. Shelf-life stability is determined by safety or microbiological stability according to standard industry tests used for this purpose. In a particular embodiment, the whole-grain composite food products according to the invention are shelf-stable for at least about six months or preferably about nine to twelve months or more for products kept at ambient temperature. For purposes herein, the product's shelf life is determined by the organoleptic or eating quality of the products.

The vegetables and fruit also contribute a unique vegetable or fruit flavor respectively in the whole-grain composite food products according to the embodiments specified herein, and act as a natural source of vitamins and/or minerals, and other nutrients, to reduce macronutrient/micronutrient nutrient supplementation needs/costs and provide more bioavailable forms of such naturally supplied nutrients. The fruit, when used, may be selected from figs (prunes), bananas, citrus fruits, lingonberries, apples, strawberries, blackberries, blueberries, raspberries, peaches, apricots, pears, pineapples, oranges, grapes and the like and any combination thereof. The vegetables, when used, may be selected from the group consisting of sweet potatoes, potatoes, cabbage, onions, carrots, spinach, broccoli, peas, beans, peppers, squash, musk, Brussels sprouts, cucumbers, tomatoes and the like, and any combination thereof. The fruit and vegetables can be used in the form of whole raw products thereof, whole frozen products thereof, whole evaporated products thereof, whole pre-cooked products thereof, whole juices thereof, whole purees thereof, whole fruit concentrates, whole powders thereof, or any combination thereof. The whole grain particles and the fruit or vegetable food component may be combined in a mixing ratio of about 20:80 to about 95:05, respectively, and especially about 30:70 to about 50:50, on a weight%:weight% basis, although the ratio may vary depending of the relative moisture and solids content of the two ingredients.

Any whole grain or multi-whole grain combinations can be used in embodiments according to the present invention. The whole grains used in the embodiments set forth herein may include high-gluten whole grains such as wheat and/or gluten-free or low-gluten whole grains, for example corn, barley, rice, rye, oats and triticale (rye wheat), or any combination thereof. In a particular embodiment, the whole grains include gluten-free or gluten-reduced whole grains. These whole grains can be used individually or in multigrain combinations thereof. Compound products according to embodiments according to the invention include, for example, whole grain snacks and ready-to-eat cereal mixes, made from one or more types of gluten-free or gluten-poor whole grains. The method can also be used with whole wheat alone or in combination with other whole grains to give the product an improved crispy texture.

As will be appreciated, the methods of the present invention can be used to prepare unique and improved whole grain healthy snacks with any grain type or grain combinations. In addition, whole grains can be used in combination with proper fruit or vegetables to make shelf-stable healthy snacks with improved taste. The texture of the snacks made with cooked whole grains is unique in terms of chewing resistance ("bite") and crispness versus traditional rotary/flake shaped snacks. In a preferred embodiment, the snack products having whole grain and fruit or vegetable content according to the embodiments of the present invention are crispy chip-like snack products, instead of being a type of chewy snack food product. The food products of this invention can be formulated to be an excellent source of whole grains and a good source of dietary fiber (depending on the type of whole grain/real fruit/real vegetable used), as well as being low in (saturated) fat, low or no trans fat content, low or no cholesterol content, and they can be produced in a low sodium format. As indicated, the inventive methods can be used to produce cereal mixes, sweet or salty snacks, and other food products, which also represent unique shelf-stable snacks and food products. The composite food products according to this invention can also optionally be prepared without adding the fruit or vegetable content, where the preparation otherwise takes place in a generally similar manner to what is described herein, and where it is then understood that the advantages of a fruit/vegetable component will be absent from the product.

Brief description of the drawings

Fig. 1 is a flowchart showing a general method for producing a whole-grain composite food product according to the present invention. Fig. 2 is a flowchart showing a method for producing a whole-grain composite food product according to an embodiment of the present invention where a whole-grain ingredient is cooked under atmospheric pressure conditions. Fig. 3 is a flowchart showing a method for producing a whole-grain composite food product according to an embodiment of the present invention where a whole-grain ingredient is cooked under vacuum or positive pressure conditions. Fig. 4 is a flowchart showing a method for producing a whole grain-containing composite food product according to a special embodiment according to the present invention where a pre-milled whole grain ingredient is cooked under atmospheric pressure conditions in combination with subsequent flake forming/cutting and oven roasting steps.

Detailed description of the invention

The present invention provides a method for preparing whole-grain composite food products, such as filling or sweet snacks (for example, potato chips, crackers, waffle biscuits, biscuits, etc.) and ready-to-eat cereals, as well as other food products. The products can be made with 100% whole grain and can be formulated to be an excellent source of whole grain nutrition and a good source of fibre.

With reference to fig. 1, the flow chart shows a general process diagram for producing whole-grain composite food products according to various illustrative embodiments according to the present invention. As illustrated, shaped and sized snack products are produced in a series of steps including a) preparation of a dough with in situ generation of gelatinized whole grain content which is combined with fruit or vegetable content, whole grain flour, starch and possibly minor dough ingredients, b) the dough is shaped to give separate dough units or pieces of the desired shape and size, and c) the dough units are baked in an oven or in a pan to provide shelf-stable whole grain composite food products. In fig. 1-3, processing related to dough making is indicated by the steps enclosed by the box drawn with dashed lines. In one embodiment, the dough retains acceptable machinability for flake forming and cutting/shaping operations and the like while containing no or very small amounts of sugar or no or very small amounts of plastic shortening or similar fats. In one embodiment, embodiments of the present invention provide a machinable dough that contains less than 30% by weight, more particularly less than 5% by weight of externally added granulated or crystalline sugar; and less than 5% by weight, more particularly less than 1% by weight, of externally added shortening or similar fat ingredients. The reduction in sugar and cooking fat requirements for the dough reduces material costs as well as the carbohydrate and/or fat content of the products. In methods according to the present invention, a whole grain composite food product can be produced continuously on a mass production basis, or alternatively non-continuously (for example by chilled or frozen storage of the dough for a residence time before dough forming and baking).

Method in which whole grains are cooked under atmospheric pressure.

With reference to fig. 2, in this particular embodiment, pre-milled whole grain particles are heated/cooked in the presence of water under atmospheric pressure conditions, such as in a dough mixer adapted for steam injection and open to the atmosphere, at a temperature and for a time effective to pregelatinize at least some, and preferably substantially all, of the whole grain particles. The cooking temperature can vary from, for example, about 49°C to about 93°C, especially about 60°C to about 71°C, which can vary depending on the type of whole grain being processed and the length of the cooking cycle. After the whole grain particles are sufficiently cooked to be gelatinized, an outside source of starch, such as raw and/or pregelatinized starch, (dry ground) whole grain flour, along with fruit or vegetables, and any leavening agents and/or other minor dough ingredients, is introduced into the dough mixer, and the resulting combination is mixed into the dough mixer until a substantially uniform mixture of a dough-like consistency has been provided. The mixture provided should be sufficient to evenly disperse the dough ingredients and form a substantially uniform homogeneous mixture. The mixing time may vary, depending on temperature conditions, mixing speed and the proportions of the different ingredients.

The external whole grain flour and starch source used in this embodiment helps to reduce the moisture content and stiffen the dough to further improve its tolerance to flaking or other dough machining treatments without cracking. Typically, the wholemeal flour and the starch sources are used in dry-milled forms. The cooked (in situ gelatinized) whole grain material mixed with the external raw or pregelatinized whole grain flours/starches and real fruit or vegetables can be formulated to provide a dough-like material with optimal moisture levels for flaking, etc. The external starch source can include, for example, pregelatinized waxy starch or modified waxy starch such as waxy corn, a granular corn starch, a granular potato or tapioca starch, combinations thereof, and the like. The starches include starches such as corn starch, potato starch, tapioca starch, rice starch and modified or pregelatinized waxy starches such as those from waxy maize, sorghum, rice and mixtures thereof. These starches can be used individually or in combinations thereof. A preferred form of pregelatinized starch source that can be used is modified or pregelatinized starch from waxy corn. The total amount of raw and/or pregelatinized starch source added may vary, depending on the type of starch and the other dough ingredients, but may generally comprise about 2% to about 25% by weight of the dough. The dry ground whole grain flour ingredient added in the dough making step of this embodiment may comprise, for example, grain flour components selected from one or more of wheat flour, corn flour, oat flour, barley flour, rye flour, rice flour and mixtures thereof. The wholemeal flour may be non-gelatinized ("raw"), or partially gelatinized, or a combination of raw or partially gelatinized wholemeal flour may be used. The partially gelatinized whole grain flour, if used, can include, for example, dry finely ground, pregelatinized rice flour and the like. The wholemeal flour can be bleached or unbleached. The total amount of extraneous dry wholemeal flour added may vary, depending on the type of wholemeal flour and the other dough ingredients such as the extraneous starch source and its amount of addition, but in general it may be about 0 wt% to about 50 wt%, especially about 5 wt% to about 20% by weight and more particularly about 10% by weight to about 18% by weight of the dough.

The dough formulation may also include one or more minor dough ingredients in effective amounts for their respective function and purpose, such as leavening agents, baking powder, vegetable oil, honey, salt, lime (calcium hydroxide), quick-cooking agents (disodium phosphate), emulsifiers, dough processors ("dough conditioners"), reducing agents, oxidizing agents and the like. Raising agents may be added to the dough in an effective amount to improve color, texture and other sensory attributes. The swelling agents may include, for example, sodium bicarbonate, ammonium bicarbonate, sodium aluminum phosphate and the like.

The total moisture content (from all sources) of the dough formulation is generally in the range of about 25% to about 50% by weight, and particularly about 35% to about 45% by weight. The amount of moisture present should be sufficient to provide a dough consistency suitable for proper shaping, machining and cutting of the dough. For example, the dough should not be too stiff or sticky, and have a consistency that can be flaked and shaped using conventional cutting equipment or rotary forming equipment and the like. As previously indicated, the doughs according to the present invention can be formulated without or with very limited amounts of sugar or cooking fat necessary to provide a coherent flaky dough.

Although not required, the cooked whole grains may optionally be cooled to ambient temperature before combining with fruits or vegetables and external starch source(s), which may further help prevent dough stickiness during dough machining operations such as flaking. For example, cold air can be injected into the stove and/or a cooling hood associated with the stove can be used in this regard, so that any cooling can be effected relatively quickly without the grains being kneaded. One of the discoveries made in the present invention is that the dough composed of gelatinized whole grains and fruits or vegetables can be fed directly in its mixed heated state (eg, about 49°C to about 93°C) from the dough mixer to the dough machining stations, such as flake forming or rotary forming equipment, without it becoming non-flaky due to excessive dough stickiness. This direct "hot" feeding methodology increases productivity and reduces costs on the production line.

The dough made with the gelatinized wholes is developed under atmospheric pressure conditions, external starch, and fruit or vegetables are formed into separate units or pieces of the desired shape and size. The dough is cohesive and is easily fed into a rotary former or flake rollers or a forming extruder to form products of desired shapes and sizes. The dough can be shaped by flaking and cutting, rotational molding, or other suitable processing for shaping and dividing the dough into separate dough units of predetermined shape and size. Other methods of shaping the dough into pieces may include, for example, wire cutting, stamping, extrusion and the like. The separated dough units or pieces are baked in an oven or in a pan to provide a whole grain composite food product. For example, the dough can be flaked and cut, or rotomolded, into individual chips or mouth-sized thin biscuits, which are baked in an oven or pan to provide a product material. The oven- or pan-fried composite food product material may optionally be seasoned, oiled and/or packaged.

Substantial amounts of fruit or vegetables can be incorporated into the dough without compromising the machinability of the dough or the shelf-life stability of the composite food product. The fruit or vegetable content of the food product contributes additional nutritional value, multi-palatability and/or additional dietary fiber content, which improves the quality of the food product. The shelf-stable composite food product according to the embodiments described herein may contain the food component selected from the group consisting of vegetables and fruits in an amount ranging from about 1 wt% to about 60 wt%, especially about 5 wt% to about 45 wt%, more especially about 10 wt% to about 32 wt%, and even more particularly about 15 wt% to about 28 wt%, on a dry weight basis, of the final composite food product, without compromising the machinability of the dough or the shelf life stability of the whole grain composite food product. In a particular embodiment, the composite food products contain and provide high fruit and vegetable content per serving, such as about 8.50-19.84 grams of vegetables or fruit (solids basis) per ounce serving of whole grain composite food product. In a special embodiment, products are made with 100% whole grains and 100% proper (natural) whole fruits or vegetables. In a particular embodiment, the combination is whole grain and fruit or vegetable in mixing ratios of about 20:80 to about 95:05, respectively, and especially about 30:70 to about 50:50, on a wt%:wt% basis, although the ratio may depend on the relative moisture and solids content of the two ingredients. Emulsifiers, vitamins, minerals, flavorings/spices, and other ingredients can optionally be incorporated into the dough to further improve the nutritional value, taste and texture of the composite products.

With reference to fig. 4 is a non-limiting illustration of the method of FIG. 2 given where a whole grain or several whole grains are milled in advance using Fitzmilling (0.24 centimeter screen), then cooked in a Peerless or Shaffer dough mixer with steam injection at a temperature of up to 93°C for a time and at a temperature sufficient to gelatinize the whole grain particles. The fruit or vegetables, the external starch source(s), the wholemeal flour and the leavening agent and/or the smaller dough ingredients are added to the gelatinized dough in the dough mixer with mixing, where the above temperature value is maintained, until a substantially uniform dispersion of added ingredients is provided and a mixture is provided with a dough-like consistency. In this illustration, the resulting dough is flaked between counter-rotating rollers and then cut/formed into separate dough pieces or units, which are then baked in an oven. The oven-roasted products are seasoned or oiled before storage and packaging.

Process of whole grain cooking under superatmospheric or vacuum pressure. With reference to fig. 3, in another particular embodiment, pre-milled whole grain particles are boiled in the presence of water under vacuum pressure conditions or superatmospheric pressure conditions either alone or in the presence of fruit or vegetables ("option 1") sufficiently to develop gelatinized whole grain particles, and the gelatinized whole grains can be combined with fruit or vegetables for the first time in this process scheme or alternatively additional fruit or vegetables can be introduced ("option 2") and the gelatinized whole grains/fruit or vegetable combination is passed through a low shear extruder to form dough in the form of an extrudate. In a particular embodiment, as shown in fig. 3, the fruit or vegetable component and a portion of the whole grain particle ingredient can be vacuum cooked in combination with other dry ingredients such as starch, whole grain flour, leavening agent ingredients can be separately steam heated in the presence of added water sufficient to develop gelatinized whole grain particles in the steam heated mixture, and then the resulting vacuum and steam heated mixtures are combined and mixed to produce dough. The vacuum cooking can be carried out without the addition of water from the outside, such as with moist fruit or vegetable ingredients. Shearing and compressing the combined cooked grain particles and food component in the low shear extruder softens/plasticizes the matrix and generates enough friction/heat to make it pliable, and less hard and rubbery, and ready for shaping and sizing while avoiding stickiness issues . Although not required, the cooked wholes may optionally be cooled to ambient temperature before being passed through the low shear extruder, which may further help prevent the dough from being sticky during dough machining operations such as flaking or rotary forming.

The extrudate obtained from the low shear extruder may be fed to a rotary former, or flake rollers and a cutter, or other equipment arrangements suitable for shaping and sizing the doughy extrudates into separate pieces of dough. The extrudate, for example in the form of continuous threads, bars, noodles, strips or other machinable cross-sectional shapes can be fed into rotary dies or flake rollers. The consistency of the extrudate is such that it is easily fed into the cavity of the rotary former or the flake rollers. The dough units or pieces of the desired shape and size are baked in an oven or in a pan to provide a whole-grain composite food product. During the baking process, the stamp pattern on the product remains intact without distortion.

Fruit and vegetable food components. The fruit or vegetable ingredient can be added to dough ingredients in the cooker in raw uncooked form, frozen form, dry form or pre-cooked form, and can also be used as an intact whole or as a selected portion(s) or in a pre- processed form thereof.

The natural fruit can be selected from, for example, figs (prunes), bananas, citrus fruits, lingonberries, apples, strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, peaches, apricots, pears, pineapples, oranges, grapes and so on, as well as combinations thereof. Portions of whole fruit can be used selectively, such as pulp portions without seeds and/or peel and/or without inedible core. The fruit component may include one or more whole fruits, whole fruit purees, 100% fruit juice, whole frozen fruit, whole evaporated fruit, whole fruit powders, or combinations thereof. For example, evaporated apples stored under cool conditions and apple powder are commercially available which can be used in methods according to the present invention. The steamed apples are preferably passed through a Hobart meat grinder or device before being added to the cooker.

The natural vegetable that can be used can be selected from, for example, onions, potatoes, sweet potatoes, cabbage, carrots, spinach, broccoli, peas, beans, peppers, squash, musk, Brussels sprouts, cucumbers, tomatoes and so on and combinations thereof. Portions of whole vegetables can be used selectively, such as vegetable meat portions without seeds and/or skins. Alternatively, or in addition, cooked and pasteurized vegetable purees/vegetable powders/frozen vegetables/evaporated vegetables/100% vegetable juices/100% vegetable concentrates can be used. For example, dry vegetable granules and frozen vegetables are commercially available that can be used in the methods of the present invention. The frozen vegetables are preferably passed through a Hobart meat grinder or device before being added to the cooker.

The composite whole grains/fruit or vegetable products are a good to excellent source of whole grains as well as a good source of fiber (depending on the whole grains/real fruits/real vegetables used). In addition, the composite product offers unique nutritional health benefits derived from both whole and whole fruits or vegetables. The fruits or vegetables also act as a natural source of vitamins and/or minerals, and other nutrients, to reduce macronutrient/micronutrient supplement needs/costs and provide a more bioavailable form of such naturally supplied nutrients. The fruits develop and contribute a unique fruit flavor to the composite product. The vegetables develop and contribute a unique vegetable flavor to the composite product. These composite products are an easy way to deliver both whole grains and whole fruits or vegetables in a ready-to-eat shelf-stable product. The whole and the proper fruits or vegetables compliment each other in nutritional value, texture and general eating qualities. Formulated products can be formulated to be an unlabeled source of whole grains, a good source of dietary fiber, little or no trans fatty acid sources, little saturated fat sources, little or no cholesterol sources, and can be made low sodium, etc. In light of fruit or the vegetable content, they may also contain vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and additional nutrition, depending on the particular fruit or vegetable that is added.

Other advantages of this and other embodiments of the invention include the versatility of the procedure in terms of using whole/pre-milled whole grains, method of cooking and ability to incorporate other ingredients to improve functionality, nutritional value and general acceptability of the products. In addition, by using different cutting designs and rotational molding patterns, the product geometry and pattern of composite products according to embodiments of this invention can be changed to make it interesting and fun for consumers.

Whole grains. In a particular embodiment, various whole grain groats can be used individually or in multi-grain combinations thereof to produce whole grain-containing composite products according to the embodiments of the present invention. Preferably, all the grains are boiled together in one step in the cooker. The addition of multigrain in a single step helps to simplify processing. The composite products are preferably made with 100% whole multigrain and are an excellent source of wholegrain with all the goodness of wholegrain. The composite products are also a good source of fibre. In one embodiment, examples of whole grains that can be used in the production of composite products according to the present invention are non-gluten-containing or gluten-poor whole grains such as whole grain corn or corn kernels, oats or oatmeal, barley, rye, rice, triticale and mixtures thereof. In a particular embodiment, the whole grains processed using methods according to the invention comprise gluten-free or gluten-low whole grains, individually or in combinations thereof, which consist of less than about 4% by weight, especially less than about 3% by weight and more especially less than about 1 % by weight, total gluten content thereof. A particular whole grain for use in the present invention is corn. The corn can be the yellow, white or blue variety or mixtures thereof. High-gluten grains, such as wheat, can also be processed according to the methods of the present invention. For example, in embodiments according to the invention, any whole wheat, such as whole wheat soft/hard/durum wheat, or wheat berries can be used individually or in combination with one or more gluten-free or gluten-poor whole grains. In embodiments according to the invention, whole grains, which are at least partially or completely defatted, such as defatted whole wheat berries, can be used alone or in a mixture with full-fat whole grains. In the production of multigrain products, each grain can be used in equilibrium percentages or in different weight percentages.

The whole grain groat particles used can be in the form of raw, whole, non-pulverized grain or berries in the form of pre-cut, pre-ground or powdered whole grains. For example, the whole grain particles can be in the form of whole corn kernels, or pre-ground or powdered corn kernels. Whole oat particles can be in the form of whole oat or berries, or pre-ground or pre-cut whole oat or pre-flaked whole oat. The starch in the whole grain particles used in the present invention can all be or substantially all be individual, crystalline starch granules, as determined by light microscopy starch characteristics where a sample is stained with Lugol's lodine and observed in Brightfield optics.

Although preferred in the embodiments, the present invention is not limited to whole grains as the only type of grain source that can be used in the preparation of the composite products. Composite products can also be prepared using methods according to the invention from grain sources containing at least partially non-wholegrain ingredients (for example flour, germ, flour, starches, etc). In addition, products can optionally be produced without pre-cooking the composite doughs before they are pelletised. That is, the doughs into which the fruit or vegetable is incorporated into the pelletized intermediate material can alternatively be doughs made from flour that is not heat-treated, pre-cooked and dried (for example, masa flour, pregelatinized flour, partially gelatinized flour, pre-soaked and dried flour , toasted flour, other heat-treated uncooked flour, etc).

In embodiments according to the present invention, pre-milled or powdered whole grain cereals are preferred because they hydrate and cook faster than whole grains or whole berries. For example, prior to cooking, whole grain groats, such as whole corn kernels, may be pre-milled, milled or pulverized to a particle size of less than or equal to about 100% inch, preferably less than or equal to about 0.5 centimeter, for example from about 0.13 centimeters to about 0.48 inches. In embodiments of the invention, pulverizing, pre-grinding, or milling raw whole grains may be accomplished using a conventional Fitz mill, Commitrol mill, or Urschel mill. For example, a Fitz Mill with 0.24 centimeter or 0.32 inch round hole screen can be used to achieve a mean particle size distribution of approximately: 0.0% on a #6 screen, approximately 14.91% on a #14 screen, approximately 30.43% on a #20 screen, about 50.25% on a #40 screen and about 4.41% in the pan.

In embodiments of the present invention, whole seeds or powdered seeds or legumes, such as soybeans or soybean sprouts, can be mixed with the cereal grains to improve the protein content of the products of the present invention in quantity, which does not adversely affect the stripability or flake formability. Exemplary amounts of seeds or legumes, which can be used, can go up to about 60% by weight, based on the total weight of the whole grains.

In particular embodiments where the whole grain grits include whole corn, lime is preferably used to improve flavor and also improve starch functionality and cohesiveness. Any food grade lime or calcium hydroxide can be used in the present invention. The lime can be added in an amount sufficient to improve starch functionality and reduce stickiness in the corn-based composition, and to give the final product a masa taste. Exemplary amounts of lime that can be used in embodiments according to the present invention are from about 0.01% by weight to about 3% by weight, preferably from about 0.1% by weight to about 0.5% by weight, based on the weight of the whole the corn kernels or

- the cores. Lime can be used alone or in combination with other fast-boiling agents (such as disodium phosphate). Fat content. Whole-grain foods, such as ready-to-eat cereals, crackers, waffles, biscuits or snack chips, according to methods according to the present invention can be full-fat, reduced-fat, low-fat or fat-free products. As used herein, a reduced fat food product is a product with a fat content that is reduced by at least 25% by weight compared to the standard or conventional product. A low-fat product has a fat content of less than or equal to three grams of fat per reference amount or specified serving portion. However, for small reference amounts (that is, reference amounts of 30 grams or less or two tablespoons or less), a low-fat product has a fat content of less than or equal to 3 grams per 50 grams of product. A fat-free product has a fat content of less than 0.5 grams of fat per reference amount and per specified serving portion. For accessory cracker biscuits, such as salty line cracker biscuits, the reference amount is 15 grams. For crackers, or biscuits or waffle biscuits, used as snacks, and for cookies, the reference amount is 30 grams. Thus, the fat content of a low-fat cracker, waffle or cookie would therefore be less than or equal to 3 grams of fat per 50 grams or less than or equal to about 6% fat by weight, based on the total weight of the final product. A fat-free accessory cracker would have a fat content of less than 0.5 grams per 15 grams or less than about 3.33% by weight, based on the weight of the final product. A fat-free waffle biscuit with a stated serving size of 32 grams would have a fat content of less than 0.5 grams per 32 grams or less than about 1.56% by weight, based on the weight of the final product.

As discussed previously, shortening and similar fat content in the food product of the present invention can be reduced or eliminated as dough machining requirements for such ingredients are significantly reduced or eliminated by the methods of the present invention. If used, however, oily compositions, which can be used in the production of full-fat, reduced-fat or low-fat composite products according to the present invention, may contain any known edible fat or fat mixtures or compositions useful for frying (in an oven or in a pan ) applications, and they may include conventional food grade emulsifiers. Vegetable oils, lard, marine oils and mixtures thereof, which are fractionated, partially hydrogenated and/or interesterified, are examples of grease or fat which can be used in the present invention. Edible reduced or low-calorie, partially digestible or non-digestible fats, fat substitutes or synthetic fats, such as sucrose polyesters or triacylglycerides, which are process compatible, can also be used. Mixtures of hard and soft fats or cooking fats and oils can be used to achieve a desired consistency or melting profile in the oily composition. Exemplary edible triglycerides that can be used to obtain the oily compositions for use in the present invention include naturally occurring triglycerides derived from any vegetable sources such as soybean oil, palm kernel oil, palm oil, canola oil, saffron thistle oil, sesame oil, sunflower oil, canola oil, corn oil, olive oil and mixtures thereof. Marine and animal oils such as sardine oil, menhaden oil, babassu oil, lard and tallow can also be used. Synthetic triglycerides, as well as natural triglycerides of fatty acids, can also be used to obtain the oily composition. The fatty acids can have a chain length of from 8 to 24 carbon atoms. Solid or semi-solid edible fats or fats at room temperatures of, for example, from about 24°C to about 35°C, can be used. Preferred oily compositions for use in the present invention include vegetable oil products, such as partially hydrogenated soybean oil, palm oil and mixtures thereof.

In embodiments according to the invention, the amount of vegetable shortening or fat that is applied locally to composite products can also be reduced by more than 25% by weight to achieve reduced fat products with, for example, less than about 20% by weight of fat, preferably less than about 10% fat by weight and more preferably less than 5% by weight based on the total weight of the oven-fried or pan-fried final composite product.

To give reduced-fat, low-fat or fat-free products a more lubricating mouthfeel, hydrocolloid gum, preferably guar gum, can be used to compensate for the fat reduction, as stated in US patent no. 5,595,774 in the name of Leibfred et al.. As stated in US patent No. 5,595,774, the hydrocolloid gums which impart a lubricating, smooth, non-slippery mouthfeel to the oven-fried or pan-fried product are used in effective amounts. Exemplary amounts of hydrocolloid gum, preferably guar gum, which may be used are from about 0.15% by weight to about 1.5% by weight, preferably from about 0.25% by weight to about 0.45% by weight, based on the total weight of the whole the berries or grits. Other gums that can be used with guar gum include xanthan gum and carboxymethyl cellulose and gums that form gels such as alginate gum, carrageenan gum, gum arabic, gum tragacanth, pectin and locust bean gum, and mixtures thereof. In general, the higher the degree of shortening or fat reduction, the greater the amount of gum used to compensate for the loss of lubricity or loss of mouthfeel smoothness.

Cookers and cooked cereal products. In the case of atmospheric pressure cooking of the grain or berry according to the embodiment of fig. 2 of this invention, it can be done in a dough mixer adapted for steam injection and which is open to the atmosphere, such as a Pearless or Shaffer mixer. In the case of vacuum or pressure cooking of the grain or berry according to the embodiment of fig. 3 of this invention, it can be done in any standard cooking equipment, such as a rotary cooker, an immersion cooker, a vacuum cooker such as a Groen vacuum cooker, or a pressure cooker such as a Lauhoff pressure cooker, etc. Immersion cooking is generally at about atmospheric pressure or at only 14-21 kPa (2-3 psig). Pressure cooking is preferred because it quickly achieves full cooking or gelatinization of the whole grain particles with little or no white center.

In embodiments according to the present invention, the whole grain particles can be cooked at temperatures and humidities that hydrate and at least substantially gelatinize the internal structure of the grains or berries so that only a pinhead of white or free starch remains visible in the center of the kernel. In embodiments according to the invention, the degree of gelatinization can be, for example, at least 90%. In preferred embodiments, the starch is substantially 100% gelatinized and leaves no visible white centers in the whole grain particles. The degree of starch gelatinization can be measured by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). In general, starch gelatinization occurs when: a) water in sufficient quantity, generally at least about 25 to 30% by weight, based on the weight of starch, is added to and mixed with starch, and b) the temperature of the starch-water mixture is increased to at least about 80 °C, preferably 100°C or more. The gelatinization temperature depends on the amount of water available for reaction with the starch. The smaller the amount of available water, the higher the gelatinization temperature is generally.

As previously indicated and shown in fig. 3, in a particular embodiment, the fruit or vegetable component and a portion of the whole grain particle ingredient may be vacuum cooked, and the remainder of the whole grain particle ingredient in combination with other dry ingredients such as starch, whole grain flour, leavening agent ingredients may be steam heated in the presence of water sufficient to develop gelatinized whole grain particles in the steam heated mixture and then the resulting vacuum and steam heated mixtures can be combined and mixed to produce dough, which is then machined, shaped and baked in an oven or pan as described elsewhere herein.

For purposes herein, gelatinization can be defined as the collapse of molecular order within the starch granule, expressed in irreversible changes in properties such as granule swelling, natural crystallite melting, loss of birefringence and starch solubility. The temperature at the initial phase of gelatinization and the temperature range where it occurs is controlled by starch concentration, observation method, granule type and heterogeneities within the granule population under observation. Lubrication is the second phase phenomenon after gelatinization in the dissolution of starch. It includes increased granule swelling, exudation of molecular components (that is, amylose, followed by amylopectin) from the granules, and eventually total breakdown of the granules. See Atwell et al., "The Terminology and Methodology Associated with Basic Starch Phenomena", in Cereal Foods World, Vol. 33, No. 3, pp. 306-311 (March 1988).

Exemplary boiling temperatures used for boiling under atmospheric pressure conditions consistent with the embodiment in fig. 2 can be from, for example, about 49°C to about 93°C, especially about 60°C to about 71°C, which can vary depending on the type of whole grain being processed and the length of the cooking cycle.

Example immersion boiling temperatures used for vacuum or

superatmospheric pressure conditions in accordance with the embodiment of fig.

3 can be from about 88°C to about 100°C. Immersion cooking of whole wheat can occur at about 99°C at atmospheric pressure using steam for about 30 to about 36 minutes. The cooking may include a "get up time"

("come-up time") of between 6.5 and approximately 8 minutes during which the temperature of the grain in the vessel or cooking container is increased from ambient temperature to the cooking temperature. But preferably, before boiling, the whole grain particles are added to hot water at a temperature of about 77°C to 88°C in the boiler. The whole grain particles can be added to the hot water in a rotary cooker, for example, over a time period of about 50 to about 100 seconds. The amount of water used in the immersion cooking step can be from about 28% by weight to about 70% by weight based on the total weight of the grains or berries and added water. The moisture content of the cooked grain, after draining, can be from about 29% by weight to about 60% by weight, preferably from about 29% by weight to about 42% by weight.

In preferred embodiments where positive (superatmospheric) pressure cooking with direct steam injection is used such as in the embodiment of fig. 3, pressure cooking temperatures can be at least about 113°C, preferably at least about 121°C, most preferably from about 131°C to about 135°C. Exemplary pressure cooking pressures can be from about 103 kPa to about 207 kPa, preferably from about 137 kPa to about 193 kPa with cooking times from about 15 minutes to about 45 minutes, preferably from about 20 minutes to about 30 minutes. The pressure cooking may include a "rise time", as in immersion cooking, of between 6.5 and about 8 minutes during which the temperature of the grain in the vessel or cooking vessel is increased from ambient temperature to the cooking temperature. But preferably, before cooking, the whole grain particles are mixed with hot water at a temperature of about 77°C to 88°C in the pressure cooker. The whole grain particles can be added to the hot water, or vice versa, in a rotary cooker, for example over a time period of about 50 to about 100 seconds. Fruits or vegetables, and other ingredients such as salt and lime in cases of corn kernel cooking, can be added to the cooker with the water as a premix or added separately. As in the previously discussed embodiments, the dough formulations may also include one or more minor dough ingredients, such as leavening agents, baking powder, vegetable oil, honey, salt, etc.

For the embodiment of fig. 3, pressure cooking is preferred over immersion cooking because it provides better control over achieving the desired water content in the cooked whole grain particles and reduces or removes the need for drying the cooked grain particles to achieve the desired moisture content before shredding. In general, in pressure cooking, all the water that is added is absorbed or taken up by the whole grain particles. In addition, steam directly injected into the pressure cooker condenses and is taken up by whole grain particles, generally in an amount of about 1 wt% to about 3 wt%, based on the total weight of cooked whole grain particles. In general, drainage of water is not necessary after pressure cooking because all or substantially all of the added water and steam condensate have been taken up by the cooked whole grain particles.

The amount of water added in the pressure cooking step, not including the steam condensate, can be from about 12% by weight to about 30% by weight based on the total weight of the grains or berries and the added water. If moist fruit or vegetables are included in the mixture being cooked, the moisture content thereof can effectively reduce the requirement for external moisture for cooking. The moisture content of the cooked grain, which may include water naturally present in the raw grain, after drainage if necessary, may be from about 29% by weight to about 42% by weight, preferably from about 33% by weight to about 38% by weight, based on the weight of the cooked whole grain particles.

During cooking, moisture tends to accumulate on the grain particles or berries. This moisture can increase the stickiness of the cooked grain and can cause handling problems when the grain is transferred to other appliances. Mixing the grain in the cooking vessel at low rotation speeds provides even cooking and reduces lump formation.

The cooked wholemeal particles and any other food components present may be passed through a lump breaker to break apart any large clumps or agglomerates of cooked wholemeal particles prior to further dough processing.

After cooking, the starch granules of the cooked whole grain semolina particles are no longer crystalline in nature and are swollen or larger in size, as determined by light microscopy starch characterization using l_ugol's lodine. The cooked particles may contain swollen granules as well as agglomerated starch clusters.

Low shear extruders. In the embodiment of fig. 3 transfer the cooked ones

the whole grain particles, and any other food components present, such as by assembly lines to an extruder to form them into an extrudate. Commercially available low shear extruders can be used to produce the whole grain extrudate under low shear from the combination of cooked whole grain particles and

fruit/vegetables. The cooked whole grain/fruit or vegetable mixture is fed into an extruder unit including a low shear screw feed (single or twin screw). The low shear screw feed may in particular comprise a cross connection twin screw feed which can be operated at low speeds and adapted with minimal clearance relative to the inner surface of a generally cylindrical extruder chamber (barrel) housing the twin screw mechanism. The screws rotate either in the same direction (co-current) or in the opposite direction (counter-current) from each other. After introduction into the low-shear screw feed, the mass is mixed and folded. The extruder can be equipped with a vacuum pump, which evacuates air from spaces inside the extruder barrel where the screw feed is located and the mass therein to assist in the formation of substantially continuous homogeneous mass in the extruder, which is substantially free of air pockets. In a particular embodiment, the vacuum pump is combined with a screw extruder as an integrated unit, and such integrated devices are com-

commercially available, for example the VEMAG robot model HP-15C, manufactured by Robert Reiser & Co., which is packaged as integrated units with a twin screw feed device for meat stuffing operations. The extruder preferably includes cooling drafts provided to control the temperature of the dough in the extruder and to control the temperature of the extrudate leaving the extruder. The mass is fed as a viscous, essentially continuous, uninterrupted homogeneous mass by means of the twin or single screw feed out of a discharge drain on the extruder. The cooling drafts help to remove heat generated by shearing that occurs in the extruder and at the draw disc as the dough is forced through the draw disc openings. In embodiments according to the invention, the draw disk can have a plurality of holes or openings at the discharge end with opening geometries corresponding to the desired cross-sectional shape of the extrudate.

The extrudate leaving the extruder represents manufactured dough in the context of this embodiment of the present invention. The extrudate may be in the form of continuous threads, noodles, strips, bars or other cross-sectional shapes suitable for shaping the dough into desired shapes and sizes. In accordance with the method according to the present invention, the extrusion pressure, as measured at the draw disk, can be from about 2.1 MPa to about 4.8 MPa, preferably from about 2.7 MPa to about 3.4 MPa. The pressures and temperatures used preferably result in no or substantially no expansion of the extrudate leaving the draw holes. In addition, the temperature of the dough leaving the extruder should be sufficiently low so that any increase in temperature caused by the forming operation does not result in destructive sticking of the dough to downstream flakes or forming rolls. Generally, the temperature of the shaped dough pieces can be up to about 49°C to about 57°C without significant sticking problems. The extrusion temperature can be controlled using the cooling drafts to provide an extrudate temperature of from about 24°C to about 57°C, preferably from about 32°C to about 43°C, for example from about 32°C to about 43°C, for for example, from about 35°C to about 41°C, as it leaves the extruder draw disc. In embodiments of the invention, cooling air may be supplied at the exit of the sheet to cool the outward extrudate to help avoid sticking problems. The dough leaving the extruder has a soft, pliable, cohesive consistency.

Dough shaping/cutting. In embodiments according to fig. 2 and 3, the dough which has been produced is then formed into a number of separate dough pieces or units. The dough units or pieces can be shaped to have essentially the same shapes and sizes for a given production run or quantity, although this is not required. Combinations of different shaped and sized pieces may be desired in some products.

When forming the dough into individual pieces of desired geometries, the whole-grain dough is preferably brought immediately or relatively quickly, for example within about 20 minutes, preferably within about 10 minutes, to flake forming and cutting or rotary forming, or other forming devices, for on this way to avoid any significant stiffening of or shriveling of the soft, pliable extrudate. In embodiments according to the invention, the whole grain extrudate can be transferred by means of pneumatic conveyor belts or conveyor belts that feed the flake forming or rotary forming equipment, or other forming devices.

The pieces of dough can be flaked or cut using conventional equipment set-ups used for such purposes in the production of chip-like or waffle-like food products. Alternatively, the dough can be shaped and sized using a rotary moulder. Shaping and size determination of the dough pieces is preferably done using flake forming and cutting/shaping of the dough. Flak forming can be carried out between counter-rotating rollers. The flaky dough is cut and formed into pieces of dough of the desired shape and size, such as by means of rotary forming or by other conventional dough cutting devices. The pieces can also be formed without flake forming, such as via direct rotational forming of the fresh dough. The dough according to the present invention can also be formed into separate pieces of the desired shape and size using other dough forming machines such as extruders, Formax machines, wire cutting machines, crust forming machines, rotary cutters, piston cutters and the like.

In a particular embodiment, the dough is flaked between conventional, counter-rotating flaking rollers prior to rotational forming. The thickness of the dough sheet can be approximately the same as the thickness of the dough pieces formed from the dough sheet. The shaping of the dough sheet facilitates consistent feeding of the dough to a rotary former. The dough can optionally pass through a "kibbler" before flake forming and before rotational forming to remove lumps. Commercially available rotary formers may be used in the apparatus of the present invention, such as those manufactured by Weidenmuller Co., Morton Grove, III. The rotary shaper forms the dough mass or dough flake that is fed to it into shaped pieces. The pieces take the shape of the individual molds or cavities of the drawing roll or forming roll. The pieces of dough also take an impression or relief from the shapes or strokes of the rotary moulder. As is commonly known, the forming roll of a rotary former presses dough into individual molds or cavities thereof to form individual pieces of dough. The individually shaped pieces of dough can be removed from the molds or cavities of the draw roller for transport to the next processing station (ie, an oven or other oven or pan-frying device). Alternatively, the dough can be formed into flakes and wire-cut into desired shapes and sizes.

Dough units/pieces. The shape of the dough units or pieces can be square, round, wavy, rectangular, elliptical, parallelepiped, triangular, puzzle piece-shaped and the like. In embodiments according to the present invention, the thickness of the flaked and cut or rotary dough pieces may generally be from about 0.05 centimeters to about 0.25 centimeters, preferably from about 0.08 centimeters to about 0.20 centimeters, for example from about 0.10 centimeters to about 0.15 centimeters, although they are not limited thereto.

Oven roasting and frying in a pan. The shaped and sized pieces are then transported, such as by being taken to an oven or other cooking device for oven-frying or pan-frying the pieces of dough. The shaped and cut pieces of dough can be dried, oven-baked, pan-fried and/or toasted in conventional equipment. Suitable ovens for drying, oven baking and toasting the dough pieces include, for example, Proctor & Schwartz, Wemer-Lehara, Wolverine and Spooner ovens containing compressed air and gas fired burners and a conveyor belt. Suitable equipment for frying in a pan includes Heat and Control, FMC/Stein oil fryers. The pieces of dough can be toasted to improve the taste and brown the edges of the products. Baking or pan-frying the dough pieces does not puff or raise them significantly and gives a mostly flat, thin, chip-like appearance.

Temperature profiles used for drying, oven baking, pan frying and toasting the dough pieces can generally be in the range of about 93°C to about 371°C. The oven roasting is preferably carried out in a zone oven that uses a low oven speed to avoid excess curling, separation or deterioration of the strips during oven roasting. The total time for drying, oven roasting, pan frying and/or roasting can be such that browning is avoided (except for the edges of the pieces). It depends on the thickness of the product, the size of the product and the type of oven. The total time for drying, oven roasting, pan frying and/or toasting can be from about 1 minute to about 10 minutes. The chopped whole grain laminate can be pan-fried and toasted in conventional pan-frying and toasting equipment. Heat and Control of Hayward, CA and FMC/Stein of Sandusky, OH make suitable fryers, which may have direct or indirect heated oil and a conveyor belt. The temperature profiles used in the roaster for frying in a pan and/or roasting can generally be within the range of 149°C to 204°C. The total time of pan-frying and/or toasting is preferably less than 3 minutes, and the final moisture of the resulting product is typically about 1 to about 3% by weight. If the moisture content of the resulting product is above 3% by weight, it may exceed brittleness; and if the moisture is less than about 1% by weight, the product may be too oily, have a darker color and a burnt taste. After oven roasting or pan frying, the starch of the products may be in the form of agglomerated starch clusters with almost no individual starch granules, as determined using light microscopy starch characterization with Lugol's lodine.

The color of the final oven-fried or pan-fried product can range from a mostly uniform off-white to a golden brown color. The product can be topped with salt (for example 0.5 to 2% by weight, based on the total product weight) before baking in the oven or frying in a pan. The salt provides taste and flavor improvement. Some of the salt (NaCl) can be replaced with KCl or other salt substitutes.

Fat or shortening, when used in embodiments according to the invention, can be applied, preferably by spraying in oil form, to the top and bottom surfaces of oven-fried or pan-fried snacks without any added fat or only with the fat that occurs naturally in the grain. For example, whole wheat berries generally have an inherent fat content of about 2% to 4% by weight. See Wheat: Chemistry and Technology, Vol. II, Pomeranz, ed., Amer. Assoc. of Cereal Chemists, Inc., St. Paul, MN;

pp. 285 (1988). In embodiments according to the invention, the local application of oil to oven-fried or pan-fried snacks without any other added fat can result in oven-fried or pan-fried products with a total fat content of less than about 20% by weight, preferably less than about 10% by weight. In other embodiments, the amount of topically applied oil may be less than about 8% by weight, such as less than about 6% by weight, based on the weight of the chip-like snack. The use of hydrocolloid gum means that a smooth and even mouthfeel and a shiny appearance is achieved even without any added fat.

In a preferred embodiment, snack products containing whole grains and fruit or vegetable content in accordance with the embodiments according to the present invention are crispy chip-like snack products, instead of being chewy snack products.

Any finishing touches: seasoning/oiling and packing. The oven-roasted or pan-fried products can be packed directly or they can be seasoned and/or oiled, fortified with vitamins/minerals, and/or coated with preservatives before packaging. For example, whole grain composite products according to the present invention may contain one or more additives (for example vitamins, minerals, dyes, flavor additives, etc.) at effective concentration levels. Examples of these are sugars such as sucrose, fructose, lactose, dextrose and honey, polydextrose, dietary fibre, spices, such as onion, garlic, parsley/other herbs, and broth, malt, wheat germ, nuts, cocoa, flavorings such as fruit flavours, cracker flavoring agent, cinnamon, and vanilla flavoring agent, any acidulants such as citric acid, lactic acid, malic acid and other preservatives such as TBHQ, antioxidants such as tocopherol and BHT, food dyes, emulsifiers such as Myvatex 7 (a mixture of distilled monoglycerides manufactured by Eastman Kodak ), sodium stearoyl lactylate, lecithin and polysorbate 60 and vitamins and/or minerals. Whole grains and whole grain and fruit composite products can also be coated with real or compound chocolate for enjoyment. Examples of suitable vitamins and minerals include B-complex vitamins, soluble iron compounds, calcium sources such as calcium carbonate, vitamin A, vitamin E, and vitamin C. Also, nonfat dry milk solids (that is, milk powder) or soy protein may be added in an amount sufficient to creating a final protein level of from about 10 to about 20% by weight. Such additional ingredients may be up to about 30% by weight, based on the total dried weight of the final product.

Additives, such as vitamins and minerals, can be applied locally to the oven-fried or pan-fried product and/or can be dry-blended with an optional hydrocolloid gum and then the dry mix can be mixed with the cooked whole grain particles prior to flake forming or low-shear extrusion, depending on the process route. Additives or fillers, especially those which may adversely affect flake forming and rotational forming, are preferably applied to the dough pieces by depositing them on the dough pieces after those operations have been completed. These additives are preferably applied locally to the pieces of dough after shaping and sizing, and before or after baking in the oven or frying in a pan. For example, spices, oils, flavorings, enrichment agents and/or preservatives can be applied locally to the oven-fried or pan-fried product. Specific examples of additives include, for example, salt, sucrose, fructose, lactose, dextrose, polydextrose, fiber, milk powder, cocoa and/or flavorings. The additives can be full-fat, fat-free, reduced-fat or low-fat. Topically applied oil can be used as a carrier for one or more additives, such as flavorings or spices. Local application of additives can be achieved using conventional dispensing apparatus as set forth in US Patent No. 5,707,448 in the name of Cordera et al., for "Device for Application of Particulates to Baked Products and Snacks".

After oven-frying or pan-frying, and any possible addition of oil and/or spices, the final products are in the form of loose individual pieces of the product such as chip-like snacks, waffle biscuits, ready-to-eat cereals, biscuits and the like. Composite food products according to the present invention may have a moisture content of less than about 5% by weight, preferably about 0.5 to about 3% by weight, more preferably about 1 to 2% by weight, based on the total weight of the oven-fried or pan-fried final product. The final product may be oven-baked or pan-fried to a shelf-stable relative humidity or "water activity" of less than about 0.7, preferably less than about 0.6. It may have a shelf life of at least about 2 months, preferably at least about 6 months, more preferably at least about 12 months, when stored in properly sealed packaging.

Although the composite food products according to this invention are preferably made with doughs that include fruit or vegetable content as illustrated herein, it should be understood that these food products can also possibly be prepared without adding fruit or vegetable content to the doughs, while the processing otherwise takes place on a generally similar manner to that described herein in relation to the current embodiment, with the understanding that benefits of the fruit/vegetable component will be absent from the final product.

All parts and percentages described herein are by weight unless otherwise stated. The following examples further illustrate the present invention.

Example 1

Multi-whole grain and fruit flaky snacks: The ingredients and their relative amounts that can be used to produce a thin, crispy, chip-like, multi-whole grain and fruit flaky snack are:

A premilled whole grain was prepared by separately grinding the raw whole grain yellow corn with a Fitz mill with a 0.093 inch round hole screen. Whole white corn or any other colored whole corn can be used instead of whole yellow corn for these examples. The water was added to a Peerless or Shaffer dough mixer adapted for steam injection and open at the top to the atmosphere. The water temperature was adjusted to and maintained at approximately 60°C - 71°C. Next, the Fitz ground whole grain yellow corn was combined with the water in the dough mixer. The pulp in the cooker was heated with steam to maintain the above temperature and cooked for about 5-30 minutes under atmospheric pressure conditions (about 101.4 kPa) to completely or almost completely gelatinize the starch content of the whole grain particles.

The rice flour, the unmodified corn starch and the whole steamed apples were added to the gelatinized pre-milled whole corn particles in the dough mixer and the combination was mixed therein until a uniform mixture of the dough ingredients was obtained with a dough-like consistency. The resulting dough-like mixture was cooled to a temperature at or above ambient temperature, although this is not required, before being discharged from the dough mixer. The dough-like mixture was not kneaded. The dough-like mixture had a moisture content of about 35% to about 40% by weight.

The dough-like mixture was fed to counter-rotating flaking rolls and then cut/shaped using rotary cutters or punch cutters to provide individual dough pieces or units of any shape having a thickness of about 0.05 - 0.25 centimeters and a side edge dimension of approximately 1.27 - 7.62 centimeters. The dough pieces still had similar moisture content to the original dough.

The dough pieces/assemblies were transferred to a multi-zone oven for drying, oven baking and toasting for about 1 to 7.5 minutes at temperatures ranging from about 93°C to about 371°C. The baked product leaving the oven may have an end point moisture content of approximately 2% by weight, based on the weight of the final product.

After coming out of the oven, the fried product pieces/units were oiled and seasoned in a seasoning drum or drum as a seasoning mixture as described in Table 2. Soybean oil or other vegetable oils can be applied topically as a fine spray to the top and bottom of the fried snacks preform the strips, followed by the application of sweet or non-sweet spices. It should be understood that the post-cooking treatment of the fried product pieces with the oil and spice formula is optional. The fried product pieces can be consumed as they are. Alternatively, the fried product pieces with fruit content may possibly be oiled or seasoned, but not both.

The oven-baked dough pieces mainly retain the shape and size of the dough pieces. The oven-baked dough pieces had a crispy chip-like texture and were pleasantly multi-flavoured including with a distinct fruit flavour. The oven-baked pieces/units can be fed as individual snack pieces to packaging, such as conventional packaging used for snack chips or thin cracker wafer biscuits. The snack chips can be used for hand-to-mouth snacking and can be used for dipping without breaking.

Example 2

Multi-whole grain and vegetable flaky snack: The ingredients and their relative amounts that can be used to produce a thin, crispy, chip-like, multi-whole grain and vegetable flaky snack are:

In this example, a roasted whole grain composite food product was prepared in a generally similar manner to that described in Example 1 with several formulation changes; in particular, the fruit ingredient in the dough formulation in example 1 was replaced with a vegetable mixture and the spice mixture was modified, as indicated in Table 3-4. The resulting oven-baked dough pieces had a crispy chip-like texture and were pleasantly multi-flavored including with a distinct vegetable flavor. It should again be understood that the post-frying treatment of the fried product pieces with the oil and seasoning formula is optional. The fried product pieces can be eaten as they are. Alternatively, the fried pieces with vegetable content may be oiled or seasoned, but not necessarily both.

Example 3

Multi-whole grain and fruit flaky snacks via vacuum/steam cooking: The ingredients and their relative amounts that can be used to produce a thin, crispy, chip-like, multi-whole grain and fruit flaky snack made with a combined dough formulation combining a vacuum cooked formula including a fruit component and whole grain and a steam heated formula including whole grain, starch and flour ingredients are the following:

Fresh apples (38.56 kg) were washed and the cores and seeds were removed to give about 29.48 kg of apple ingredient. The apple ingredient was combined with 2.04 kg of ground whole grain yellow corn, and the mixture was passed through a continuous crusher with the addition of 0.09 kg of citric acid. The resulting crushed mixture, i.e. the formula from Table 6, was introduced into a Groen vacuum reboiler under 34.5 kPa vacuum (about 88°C) to reduce moisture to about 35 Brix soluble solids (yield about 20.41 kg) . The other dry ingredients described in the formula in Table 7 were steam heated in a similar manner to that described in Examples 1-2, but with the moisture level kept lower (about 30 to 40%). The vacuum cooked and steam heated mixtures were combined with mixing to form the dough with 40% moisture content. The resulting dough was flaked, cut and oven baked in a manner similar to Example 1. The product contained 10g of apple per 30g serving portion on an "as is" basis. Application of a seasoning/oil formulation, as described in Example 1, to the fried product pieces in this example is optional.

It should be understood that baking or continuous vacuum processes (or no vacuum, vacuum reduces processing time, aids in the removal of moisture, cooks at a temperature of less than 100°C, and reduces chemical changes) may be used to transform fresh crushed fruit or vegetables (80 to 95% moisture) to less moist material (50 to 60% moisture) semi-processed ingredients. Preferably, up to about 20% dry flour or other ingredients may be added to the above mixture during the above process to aid in moisture reduction, since water in the fruit (or vegetables) could be used in the dough system. Conventional baking steam process (eg, boiling at a few pounds above atmospheric pressure) used in this invention is used to prepare pregelatinized dough at about 30 to 40% moisture. Mixing of the above two materials is done to form final dough with high fruit or vegetable content (because some of the water has been removed during the pre-cooking process). There may be too much moisture in the dough without the pretreatment process described above, which would result in very soft dough that may not be suitable for further flaking/shaping operations.

Claims (36)

1. Process for producing a whole grain composite food product, characterized by the steps of: - making a moist dough comprising: - combining whole grain groat particles and water - cooking the combination at a temperature from about 49 °C to about 93 °C for a time that is effective to gelatinize the starch content of the whole grain particles and to provide a heated mass, - mixing the heated mass with starch, whole grain flour, optional leavening agent and a food component selected from the group consisting of vegetables and fruits, effective to produce a moist dough; which has a moisture content of approx. 25% by weight to approx. 50% by weight to provide moist dough that is cohesive and machinable without added sugar or fat; - forming the moist dough into separate moist dough units; and - baking or frying the moist dough units to provide a whole grain composite food product having a final moisture content of less than 5% by weight, wherein the composite food product substantially retains the size of the separate moist dough units. 2. Process for producing a whole-grain composite food product according to claim 1, characterized in that the cooking comprises heating the whole-grain groat particles in the presence of water including injected steam in a dough mixer under atmospheric conditions, and where the cooking and mixing steps are carried out separately in the respective order. 3. Process for producing a whole grain-containing composite food product according to claim 2, characterized in that the mixture further includes the addition of wax-like corn starch and pregelatinized whole grain flour in amounts effective to reduce the moisture content in and to increase the stiffening of the moist dough. 4. Method for producing a whole grain food product according to claim 3, characterized in that the forming comprises flake forming and cutting of the dough into separate moist dough units of a preselected shape and size. 5. Method for producing a whole-grain composite food product according to claim 3, characterized in that the shaping comprises feeding the moist dough into a rotary former for rotationally forming the moist dough into separate moist dough units of a pre-selected shape and size. 6. Method for producing a whole grain-containing composite food product according to claim 1, characterized in that the cooking comprises heating the whole grain grain particles in the presence of the water in a holding container under vacuum or superatmospheric pressure conditions. 7. Method for producing a whole-grain composite food product according to claim 6, characterized in that the cooking and mixing steps are carried out separately or simultaneously. 8. Process for producing a whole-grain composite food product according to claim 6, characterized in that the production of the moist dough further comprises passing the mixture of gelatinized whole-grain groat particles and the food component through a low-shear extruder to provide an extrudate. 9. Process for producing a whole-grain composite food product according to claim 8, characterized in that the forming comprises feeding the extrudate through flake forming rollers and cutting the extrudate into separate moist dough units of a pre-selected shape and size. 10. Method for producing a whole-grain composite food product according to claim 8, characterized in that the forming comprises feeding the extrudate into a rotary former for rotationally forming the extrudate into separate moist dough units of a pre-selected shape and size. 11. Method for producing a whole-grain composite food product according to claim 1, characterized in that the produced whole-grain composite food product is shelf-stable for at least six months. 12. Method for producing a whole-grain composite food product according to claim 1, characterized in that the food component is selected from the group consisting of vegetables and fruit, and the composite food product comprises the food component in an amount range of from approximately 1% by weight to approximately 60% by weight, on a dry weight basis, of the composite food product. 13. Process for producing a whole-grain composite food product according to claim 1, characterized in that the food component is selected from the group consisting of vegetables and fruit, and the composite food product comprises the food component in an amount range of from approximately 10% by weight to approximately 32% by weight, on a dry weight basis, of the composite food product. 14. Process for producing a whole-grain composite food product according to claim 1, characterized in that the whole-grain particles comprise at least one component selected from the group consisting of rye, oats, rice, barley, maize, wheat and triticale. 15. Process for preparing a whole grain composite food product according to claim 1, characterized in that the food component comprises vegetables in a form selected from whole vegetables, whole frozen vegetables, whole steamed vegetables, whole vegetable juices, whole vegetable purees, whole vegetable powders and any combination hence. 16. Process for producing a whole-grain composite food product according to claim 1, characterized in that the food component comprises vegetables selected from the group consisting of onions, sweet potatoes, potatoes, cabbage, carrots, spinach, broccoli, peas, beans, peppers, squash, okra, Brussels sprouts, cucumbers, tomatoes and any combination thereof. 17. Process for producing a whole grain-containing composite food product according to claim 1, characterized in that the food component comprises vegetables, and the whole grain particles and the vegetables are mixed in a mixing ratio of approximately 20:80 to approximately 95:05, respectively, on a weight%:weight% basis. 18. Process for producing a whole grain composite food product according to claim 1, characterized in that the food component comprises fruit in a form selected from whole fruit, whole frozen fruit, whole evaporated fruit, whole fruit juices, whole fruit purées, whole fruit powders and any combination hence. 19. Process for producing a whole-grain composite counter-product according to claim 1, characterized in that the food component comprises fruit selected from the group consisting of apples, strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, peaches, apricots, pears, pineapples, oranges, grapes, cranberries, bananas, citrus fruits, figs, prunes and any combination thereof. 20. Method for producing a whole grain composite food product according to claim 1, characterized in that the food component comprises fruit, and the whole grain particles and the fruit are mixed in a mixing ratio of approximately 20:80 to approximately 95:05, respectively, on a weight%:weight% basis. 21. A method of preparing a whole-grain composite food product according to claim 1, wherein the whole-grain groat particles have a particle size of about 0.13 cm to about 0.48 cm. 22. Method for preparing a whole grain composite food product according to claim 1, wherein the final moisture content is about 0.5% by weight to about 3% by weight. 23. Method for making a whole grain composite food product according to claim 1, wherein the method further comprises cooling the moist dough to a temperature above or about ambient temperature to provide a chilled moist dough, and forming the cooled moist dough into chilled moist dough units. 24. A method of making a whole grain composite food product according to claim 2, wherein the whole grain composite food product substantially resembles a chip with a final moisture content of about 0.5 wt% to about 3 wt% effective to provide a crunchy texture. 25. Process for producing a whole-grain composite food product according to claim 1, characterized in that the moist component is a particulate vegetable component, and the moist dough is formed by forming flakes and cutting the moist dough into separate moist dough units. 26. Method for producing a whole grain food product according to claim 25, characterized in that the cooking comprises heating the whole grain groat particles in the presence of water including injected steam in a dough mixer under atmospheric conditions, and where the cooking and mixing are carried out separately in the respective order. 27. Method for producing a whole grain food product according to claim 25, characterized in that the cooking comprises heating the whole grain grain particles in the presence of water in a holding container under vacuum or superatmospheric pressure conditions. 28. Method for producing a whole grain food product according to claim 27, characterized in that the preparation and mixing steps are carried out separately or simultaneously. 29. Method for producing a whole-grain composite food product according to claim 1, characterized in that the moist dough is formed into discrete moist dough units by forming flakes and cutting the moist dough into separate moist dough units; and baking or frying the moist dough units. 30. Method for producing a whole-grain composite food product according to claim 29, characterized in that the food component is a vegetable. 31. Process for producing a whole-grain composite food product according to claim 30, characterized in that the vegetable is selected from the group comprising onions, sweet potatoes, potatoes, cabbage, carrots, spinach, broccoli, peas, beans, peppers, squash, okra, Brussels sprouts, cucumber , tomatoes and combinations thereof. 32. Method for producing a whole-grain composite food product according to claim 29, characterized in that the food component is a fruit. 33. Process for producing a whole-grain composite food product according to claim 32, characterized in that the fruit is selected from the group comprising apples, strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, peaches, apricots, pears, pineapples, oranges, cranberries, bananas, citrus fruits, figs , prunes and combinations thereof. 33. Whole-grain composite food product formed by the method according to krawl, which is shelf-stable for at least six months. 34. Whole-grain composite food product according to claim 33, characterized in that the food component is selected from the group consisting of vegetables and fruits, and the composite food product comprises the food component in an amount in the range from about 1% by weight to about 60% by weight, on a dry weight basis, of the composite food product. 35. Whole-grain composite food product according to claim 33, characterized in that the food component is selected from the group consisting of vegetables and fruits, and the composite food product comprises the food component in an amount in the range from about 10% by weight to about 32% by weight, on a dry weight basis, of the composite food product. 36. Whole-grain composite food product according to claim 33, characterized in that the food product is selected from the group consisting of satiating snacks, sweet snacks and ready-to-eat cereal mixes.